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As the UK wakes up, the result of the US election is not yet certain.

With exit polls announced in different states at different times, many of the most important battleground states are still too close to call, according to Sky’s partner network NBC News.

Follow live: Early data makes Trump camp ‘optimistic’

Donald Trump’s camp may be confident, with the Republican holding a lead in some key states, but a clear winner is still a while off – these are the key moments of polling night so far.

A Fulton County election worker scans votes in Georgia. Pic: AP
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A Fulton County election worker scans votes in Georgia. Pic: AP

‘Russian’ bomb threats close polling stations

Polling stations in several of the seven battleground states were subject to bomb threats throughout Tuesday.

The security threats, which were all confirmed “non-credible” by the FBI, briefly stopped people from voting in Fulton County and DeKalb County, Georgia.

There were also hoaxes in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Arizona, but voting was not impacted there.

Two counties in North Carolina reported brief polling station closures due to computer and printer issues.

Both Georgia and North Carolina said they would have to extend voting hours as a result – but ultimately the official statewide polls closed on time – with some allowed to continue voting beyond the deadline.

Brad Raffensperger, Georgia’s secretary of state, claimed the fake bomb threats had come from Russian IP addresses.

“They’re up to mischief, it seems. They don’t want us to have a smooth, fair and accurate election, and if they can get us to fight among ourselves, they can count that as a victory,” he said.

A spokesperson for the Russian embassy in Washington described claims of interference as “malicious slander”, adding: “As President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly stressed, we respect the will of the American people.”

Russia has been accused of interfering in other recent US elections, particularly the 2016 race that saw Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton.

Read more
What are the seven battleground states?
When will we know who’s won?
The experts’ views from key states

Internet claims a ‘fake Melania’ voted alongside Trump

When footage emerged on social media of Melania Trump voting alongside Donald Trump in Florida it was met with conspiracy theories it was not actually her.

Mr and Mrs Trump cast their ballots at Mandel Recreation Center in Palm Beach late on Tuesday afternoon.

But people online claimed it was a “fake Melania”, questioning her appearance and speculating that Mr Trump had used a body double instead.

One post on X, which garnered thousands of views, captioned a clip of the former first lady: “That’s not Melania. This is insane.”

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump and former first lady Melania Trump walks after voting on Election Day at the Morton and Barbara Mandel Recreation Center, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
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The Trumps at Barbara Mandel Recreation Center on Tuesday. Pic: AP

Sky News analysed the video and compared it with photos taken of Mrs Trump by the Reuters news agency – which show her by her husband’s side at the same precinct – proving that it was her.

It’s not the first time ‘fake Melania’ has trended online. Mrs Trump’s rare appearances on this year’s campaign trail – in stark contrast to the 2016 and 2020 races – sparked speculation the former president was using a lookalike to stand in for his wife at previous events.

Mrs Trump introduced her husband and X founder Elon Musk on stage at his rally at Madison Square Gardens late last month – and is reported to have taken part in private fundraisers, including one at Trump Tower in New York.

Florida fails to guarantee abortions – but other states succeed

A bid to guarantee abortion rights in Florida’s constitution failed to get enough votes.

The proposal on the ballot would have allowed women to terminate pregnancies up to 24 weeks. Currently, the law only allows them up to six weeks – before most women know they are pregnant.

It’s a victory for Republican Governor Ron DeSantis who has campaigned heavily against ‘Amendment 4’ with state-funded TV adverts and threats of criminal charges for TV channels that aired ads supporting it.

The amendment won majority support – but ultimately failed to get the 60% needed for it to become state law.

Pro-choice supporters who campaigned for Amendment 4 in Florida react as results are announced. Pic: AP
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Pro-choice supporters who campaigned for Amendment 4 in Florida react as results are announced. Pic: AP

Abortion was on the ballot in 10 states after the Supreme Court voted to overturn Roe v Wade in 2022.

In contrast to Florida, Democrat-safe states Colorado and New York were among those that voted to protect reproductive rights, NBC projected.

In New York, the constitution will now guarantee that people can’t be denied their rights based on “pregnancy outcomes” as well as race, religion, and other protected characteristics.

In Colorado, reproductive rights will become part of the state constitution – barring state authorities from trying to impose a local ban – and the current constitutional ban against public-funded abortions will be lifted.

According to an NBC exit poll, only 14% of voters ranked abortion as the most important issue of the election overall – compared to 35% who said democracy.

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Trump claims ‘massive cheating’ in Philadelphia

Donald Trump made more false claims of election fraud, saying there was “talk of massive cheating in Philadelphia” before polls closed there on Tuesday evening.

He said there was “law enforcement coming!” to investigate his claims in the Pennsylvania city – but there was no evidence of this.

Twenty minutes later he posted again on his Truth Social media platform that police were also out investigating electoral fraud claims in Detroit, Michigan.

The state’s district attorney Larry Krasner said there was “no factual basis in these allegations”.

“If Donald J. Trump has any facts to support his wild allegations, we want them now. Right now. We are not holding our breath,” he wrote on X.

Both Pennsylvania and Michigan are among the seven battleground states that historically decide who wins the White House.

Mr Trump filed more than 60 lawsuits over claims of voter fraud in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, and Washington DC in 2020.

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Bodycam footage shows prison guards beating handcuffed inmate before his death

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Bodycam footage shows prison guards beating handcuffed inmate before his death

Bodycam footage showing prison officers fatally beating an inmate has been released by New York’s attorney general.

Prison officers at Marcy Correctional Facility in New York punched and kicked 43-year-old Robert Brooks repeatedly while he was handcuffed on an infirmary bed.

He died in hospital on 10 December, a day after the attack.

The incident has drawn outrage from political leaders and was condemned by the prison officers’ union as “incomprehensible”, according to Sky News’ partner newsroom NBC.

It is now being investigated by state attorney general Letitia James, who called the videos “shocking and disturbing” at a virtual news conference.

Prison officers attacked Robert Brooks on the day he was transferred to Marcy Correctional Facility in New York. Pic: The New York Attorney General Office
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Prison officers attacked Robert Brooks while he was handcuffed. Pic: New York Attorney General Office

In the video, Mr Brooks is in handcuffs as he is carried into the infirmary by several prison guards.

They put him on the bed and begin repeatedly punching and kicking him.

He is pulled upright, where his bloodied face is visible on camera, and then yanked from the bed by his shirt collar and pushed up against a window.

One of the fourteen workers involved in the incident has resigned and the rest have been suspended without pay until the process to fire them is complete. The workers include correctional officers, sergeants and a prison nurse.

The officers had not activated their body cameras but they were still on and recorded in standby mode, without audio, during the attack.

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As a result of the incident, all officers will now need to have their cameras activated any time they are engaging directly with prisoners.

Mr Brooks’ family thanked officials for taking action “to hold officers accountable” in a statement this week.

“We cannot understand how this could have happened in the first place,” the family said. “No one should have to lose a family member this way.”

Robert Brooks, who died a day after being attacked by prison officers. Pic: Family handout
Image:
Robert Brooks, who died a day after being attacked by prison officers. Pic: Family handout

The attack happened before 9.30pm on 9 December in a medical exam room after Mr Brooks had been transferred from the Mohawk Correctional Facility to Marcy Correctional Facility.

An autopsy found “preliminary findings show concern for asphyxia due to compression of the neck as the cause of death, as well as the death being due to actions of another,” according to a state corrections office investigative report obtained by an affiliate of Sky News’ partner newsroom WKTV in Utica.

Mr Brooks had been behind bars since 2017 on a 12-year sentence for first-degree assault involving a longtime girlfriend.

Officials declined to say why he had been transferred to the Marcy Correctional Facility, a medium-security prison.

Last year, an independent prison oversight group called The Correctional Association of New York released a report on the Marcy Correctional Facility.

It noted complaints of “rampant” physical abuse by staff members, with 80% of incarcerated people reporting having witnessed or experienced abuse and nearly 70% reporting racial discrimination or bias.

In response to the video, the union that represents workers at the prison said: “What we witnessed is incomprehensible to say the least and is certainly not reflective of the great work that the vast majority of our membership conducts every day.”

It adding what transpired is the “opposite of everything [the union] and its membership stand for.”

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Scottie Scheffler: Freak Christmas dinner injury forces world’s best golfer to undergo surgery

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Scottie Scheffler: Freak Christmas dinner injury forces world's best golfer to undergo surgery

The world’s best golfer has suffered a freak injury while cooking Christmas dinner, forcing him to undergo surgery.

Scottie Scheffler sustained a puncture wound after cutting the palm of his right hand on broken glass.

The world number one required surgery as small glass fragments remained in the palm after the accident.

The injury has forced him out of the first tournament of the season, next week’s The Sentry in Hawaii.

Scottie Scheffler. Pic: Reuters
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Pic: Reuters

But the 28-year-old has been told he will recover in three to four weeks, and he hopes to be back in action at The American Express tournament in California on 16 January.

Scheffler won an Olympic gold and seven PGA Tour titles in the last year and was recently named PGA Tour’s Player of the Year for a third season in a row.

In May, he was arrested by police during the US PGA Championship after he was accused of trying to drive around a traffic jam caused by a fatal accident.

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Spectators wore Free Scottie t-shirts and one wore an orange jumpsuit. Pic: Matt Stone-USA TODAY Sports via Reuters
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Scheffler’s arrest became a major story at the US PGA Championship. Pic: Matt Stone-USA TODAY Sports via Reuters

Just hours later, he was released and allowed to return to Valhalla Golf Club in Kentucky to play his second round of the tournament.

Criminal charges against Scheffler were later dismissed due to a lack of evidence and a police officer who arrested him was disciplined for not having his bodycam on at the time of the incident.

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Man indicted on murder charge after sleeping woman burned to death on New York City subway

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Man indicted on murder charge after sleeping woman burned to death on New York City subway

The man accused of burning a woman to death on a New York subway train has been indicted on murder and arson charges.

Sebastian Zapeta is accused of setting a sleeping woman on fire and then fanning the flames with a shirt, which caused her to be engulfed by the blaze.

He allegedly sat on a platform at Brooklyn’s Coney Island station, opposite the stopped train, and watched as she burned to death.

Authorities are still working to identify the victim.

Zapeta, 33, has been charged with one count of first degree murder, two counts of second degree murder and one count of arson in the first degree.

After a brief hearing in which the indictment was announced, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said: “This was a malicious deed. A sleeping, vulnerable woman on our subway system.”

Mr Gonzalez said police and medical examiners are using fingerprints and advanced DNA techniques to identify the victim, while also retracing her steps before the murder.

“Our hearts go out not only to this victim, but we know that there’s a family,” he said. “Just because someone appears to have been living in the situation of homelessness does not mean that there’s not going to be family devastated by the tragic way she lost her life.”

Police officers patrol the F train platform at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue Station, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
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Officers patrol the platform where the woman died. Pic: AP

Zapeta was initially charged with murder and arson in a criminal complaint earlier this week.

Such filings are often a first step in the criminal process because all felony cases in New York require a grand jury indictment to proceed to trial, unless a defendant waives that requirement.

Zapeta was not present at the hearing. The most serious charge he is facing carries a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole and the indictment will be unsealed on 7 January.

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Zapeta is a Guatemalan who entered the US illegally having already been deported in 2018, officials say.

He was taken into custody last Sunday, after three children called 911 when they recognised him from an image shared by police.

During questioning, prosecutors say he claimed not to know what happened, and noted he consumes alcohol – but did identify himself in photos and videos showing the fire being lit.

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